ALBUM COVER STORY: NEQUIENT's "AVARICE

American Grind/Hardcore collective, Nequient, has released their third album, "Avarice" through Nefarious Industries. The record's panoramic sleeve artwork was hand-painted by Arifullah Ali, who has collaborated with several underground bands in recent times. In the following interview, Nequient's vocalist, Jason Kolkey, talks about this imposing work of art. 

The illustration adorning the front and back sleeves of "Avarice" is simply magnificent and also intriguing. What inspired this arresting vision?

Jason Kolkey: The cover artwork was primarily inspired by a song on the album entitled “Brain Worms.” It’s a (mostly) thrashy tune with lyrics focused on how our present media ecosystem twists people’s thoughts and perceptions, making them easy prey for charlatans in the world of politics and beyond. Notably, we completed this song very early in the writing process for this album, so it actually predates any revelations about the contents of RFK, Jr.’s skull. The cover captures the album’s pervading horror with an expressionistic vision of a giant worm constricting and devouring an agonized victim.

How did artist, Arifullah Ali, become involved in this project?

Jason Kolkey: Our guitar player, Patrick, connected with Arifullah after discovering and being impressed by his artwork on Instagram. We liked that he relied on traditional painting techniques, not digital tools, to achieve elaborately grotesque results. In general, we consult with an artistic collaborator early on in the process to approve a concept, but otherwise, leave them alone to pursue their own aesthetic ideas. That makes it especially important to select artists who have a strong, unique vision for their work.

The complete "Avarice" artwork.

Do you have any information about Arifullah's creative process? Was the definitive cover layout designed by someone else?

Jason Kolkey: Arifullah used oil paints on canvas. When asked about his approach, he said, “It's an intuitive process; there's no proper structure to the artwork besides the main composition and the color tone. My main focus is to visualize the intensity and the violent nature of the band's sound.”

After Arifullah sent the completed artwork, Scott Shellhamer —who was the cover artist and designer for our previous album, Darker Than Death or Night—took over. Scott provided a sense of visual consistency across the two records by retaining elements like the fonts and the use of a sun and moon motif to identify the two sides of the LP and cassette.

The official album cover features a revamped rendition of the Nequient's logo designed by Shellhamer.

Jason Kolkey: Our good friend, M.G. Miller (best known for his contributions to Bongripper's albums like Satan Worshiping Doom), designed the original Nequient logo along with creating the artwork for many of our early releases and merch offerings. When Scott Shellhamer took on the art and design for our second album, he felt that the record’s bleak atmosphere and death metal elements called for a corresponding makeover to the logo. With Avarice, he made further modifications inspired by the artwork. The original contours of the M.G. Miller logo are still visible, maintaining a consistent identity across our three full lengths, but the updated versions reflect the way the band’s sound and outlook have evolved over the years.

Order "Avarice" at https://nequient.bandcamp.com/album/avarice

See more of Arifullah Ali's work at https://www.instagram.com/kanvaskarat/